Wife of Russia's Deputy Defence Minister spends time in Courchevel while her husband orders attacks on Ukrainian cities
Svetlana Ivanova, the wife of Timur Ivanov, Deputy Defence Minister of the Russian Federation, is having fun at the ski resort of Courchevel in the French Alps during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Source: an investigation by UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach, "Their Courchevel 2: Ukrainska Pravda tracks down the Russian elite at the French ski resort"
Details: The senior Russian military officer's wife is seen having fun partying with Russian pop singer Valery Meladze and shopping in the resort's boutiques. She was spotted at the resort on 8 March 2023.
Journalists from the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation reportedly published a story about the contents of Svetlana Ivanova's email three months ago.
It turned out that she and her husband were spending millions of dollars on their lifestyle, owning palaces, luxury cars, jewellery and many other signifiers of corruption that would not be affordable on the official income of the Defence Ministry official in charge of finance and construction.
When the full-scale invasion started a year ago, while Russia was bombing Ukraine, Svetlana was buying jewellery in Paris.
Last summer, Svetlana and Timur filed for a divorce that journalists say appears to be a sham. Shoigu's deputy was sanctioned by the EU in the autumn, but his ex-wife was not.
And that's how Svetlana can still travel and spend money in the world's top destinations while her husband continues to commit one war crime after another.
Quote: "How is this possible, and why is the wife of one of the leaders of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine still enjoying life in the civilised world?" the investigation asks.
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